Now that a firm date has been announced for the resumption of inter-county travel, it makes sense to re-arrange our annual Breakfast 'Fry'-in for a date when the maximum number of people are permitted to attend either by land or air.  The event will now take place on Sunday 16th May, subject to the usual requirement for PPR and of course weather permitting.

The event listing can be accessed here

The full listing of ILAS (and selected other) events can be viewed here

The IAA is currently undertaking a review of Irish Airspace and has held a number of on-line briefings that were open to the public.  As part of its advocacy role on behalf of Irish permit aviators, ILAS participated in these sessions and has now  submitted a document with its comments to the IAA.

This document sets out a number of important principles which should inform the design of all changes to Irish Airspace.  In addition, it calls for a variety of specific changes to airspcace affecting VFR traffic in locations such as Waterford, Coonagh, Sligo and the environs of the Dublin CTZ.

The response document can be read and downloaded here

ILAS will pursue the principles and objectives set out in this document in its relationship with the IAA.

The next edition of the new ILAS newsletter will be published in early June.  The Editor invites contributions for the forthcoming March edition, which must be received by his press deadline of:

25th May

Contributions can be emailed to editor@ilas.ie.  Photographs are especially welcome and text should ideally be in editable form - preferably not pdf

A provisional calendar of events has been announced by the Committee. With the exception of the GASCI safety evening which is online, these events are subject to Covid 19 restrictions prevailing at the time, as well as the usual weather constraints, .  Dates are as follows:

The ILAS Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Sunday Jan 31, 2021 at 12:00. As with many other meetings over the last year, it will by necessity be an online meeting. More details will be available when the appropriate arrangements are in place.

The draft minutes of the 2020 AGM may be downloaded from the Downloads section of the ILAS website (login is required). Anyone who has difficulty accessing this should e-mail secretary@ilas.ie.

For the election of the new Committee, it’s planned to use a simple low-tech approach to voting, with nominations sought beforehand and voting on the day during the online meeting. The outgoing Committee wish to strongly encourage members to consider putting themselves forward for a role on the Committee, as energy, time and a diversity of expertise are required to manage the Society’s day-to-day responsibilities. Committee meetings have been successfully conducted online during the pandemic-related restrictions, so ‘long-distance’ membership of the Committee is now better facilitated than heretofore.

Candidates for officer or Committee membership should be notified to secretary@ilas.ie at least 14 days before the AGM, but may also (as per the Constitution) be proposed at the AGM itself.

Invoices for the annual membership subscription will be issuing early in the New Year. Payment will be possible online via Stripe, or by cheque/money order via surface mail to the Permit Secretary c/o 14 Herbert Park, Bray, Co Wicklow, A98 P3X2 . Note that the membership subscription is €50, but there's a reduction to €40 for existing members who pay within 30 days of the issuing of the invoice. 

Kind regards and best wishes for 2021,

Noel Murphy, Hon Secretary,

on behalf of the ILAS Chairman and Committee

February 20th is the deadline for contributions to the March issue.

The second quarterly edition of the IlAS Newsletter is being prepared at present.  We want to make it a members' publication so please consider writing something for this next edition.  It is due out next March.

It can be as little as 200 words (less than a typed A4 page).  Photographs are always of interest.

Send your contribution to editor@ilas.ie before 20th February to guarantee inclusion.

Regrettably, we have to cancel our Harvest Fly-In scheduled for Saturday & Sunday next at ILAS Field due to the latest Covid-19 restrictions, as announced by the Government last evening.

Clearly, we are all disappointed, but you will understand that it would be inappropriate to proceed in the circumstances given that: "All outdoor events and gatherings will be limited to 15 people - reduced from 200".

The Committee will continue to monitor the situation, but it appears that this restriction will remain in place until 13th September at the earliest. Local lockdowns in counties in Kildare, Offaly and Laois will be reviewed by NPHET on Thursday and we understand that the Government will publish a new 'roadmap' in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, take care and stay safe !

Now that Covid-19 restrictions have eased, the Committee is confident of being able to run the Harvest Fly-in, weather permitting.  This will now be our only fly-in event of 2020.

To recoup some of the ground lost to the disease restrictions, the event will be extended to encompass Saturday 22nd August.  The pattern will be much like our main two-day fly-in that we normally hold in June.

Here's hoping the weather plays ball and allows us to begin to forget the horrible flying year we have had so far.  See you there!

Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, the Breakfast Fly-in scheduled for 26th April has been cancelled.

If it becomes possible to arrange a future alternative date for this event, a notice will be published on this website and circulated to members.